


Off the Leash

by LostAndDelirious



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Nashville, Slow Burn, animal shelter not so meet cute, bear the dog - Freeform, but bear does, clarke doesn't take a liking to lexa, clarke is a vet, clexa au, clexa modern au, clexa takes nashville, lexa is a CCO
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-08 02:29:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21468583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostAndDelirious/pseuds/LostAndDelirious
Summary: Lexa and Clarke cross paws... ehem, I mean paths, at a local animal shelter. They don't get off on the right foot, but constantly find themselves at the same places at the same time.ORLexa is a CCO of a pet food brand and Clarke is the head vet at a Nashville animal shelter. This is going to be a slow burn of some sorts, but there is a cute dog to become besotted with until the fluff ensues.---This was intended to be a short Clexa holiday fic, but as I started outlining the chapters and overview, I realized it's actually going to be a long Clexa fic that starts around the holiday season. Sorry not sorry.Quick thank you's to Anonfanfic for helping with the title and to kay_be for helping me headcanon this, proofing the story for me, and titling the first chapter!---Enjoy the story—I'm super excited about this one. Drop some comments and let me know what you think, will ya?Find me on Tumblr here: https://cantgetoutofmyheda.tumblr.com/
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Lexa - Relationship
Comments: 50
Kudos: 187





	1. Live Music, and Doggos, and Beers, Oh My!

As the holiday season swiftly approached, Lexa realized that she hadn’t planned an outing for her team. With two holiday seasons under her belt at Fecha Foods, she made sure the group had their fair share of long nights to welcome the Christmas—nice dinners leading into long nights of drinking, but with those two years came a largely unexpected promotion, and as the company’s new Chief Operating Office, those occasions that used to be confined to the holiday season started to pepper more and more throughout the whole span of her calendar. This year, she wanted to do something different for her team, something they weren’t used to—something that actually had some meaning. She jotted down a few ideas, then turned to face the pile of _actual_ work in front of her.

Lexa was holed up in her office, mutters of distaste spewing from her mouth as she thumbed through the stack of papers Titus had dropped off earlier in the afternoon. For her team, the beginning of December meant that there were only a few more weeks until a well-deserved week-long break for the holidays—for Lexa, it meant she only had three weeks to review every survey result from the year about “company policy and office morale” and draft a proposal to either optimize their ways of working, or address the company on why certain things had to be the way they were. After reviewing a handful of the results, she had three takeaways: One, everyone was thrilled when Titus, their CEO announced a more lenient policy for employees to work from home. Two, employees weren’t crazy about the food choices offered in the on-site cafe. Three, working for the nation’s leading natural-based dog food brand, it was absolutely bizarre that the building had a strict “no pets allowed” policy.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the last point, because it was true and extremely ironic. Especially in the day and age they were in, Fecha Foods prided themselves on being the innovators in their industry—they had a modern office with some amenities that gave it a casual and laid back vibe. The only thing missing at the dog food company was the lack of pets in the office.

She turned to her window, noticing the sun had fully set, though she wasn’t sure how long ago that had happened. Knowing it was well past five, she started to collect her remaining work into a folder to bring home with her. She hadn’t noticed the presence in her office, but a voice in the doorway caught her attention.

“Heading out?”

“Yeah,” Lexa nodded in Raven’s direction, “figured I’d finish up at home, maybe make some dinner while I’m at it.”

“How about a drink at O’s tonight? It is Wednesday after all,” Raven smirked, knowing that Lexa loved open mic nights at Music City Den—it was an offer that her boss never refused.

Lexa shook her head, knowing exactly what Raven was trying to do, “Don’t do this to me, Reyes, I have so much to get done before the end of the week.”

Raven lifted a brow, “Good thing you have all day tomorrow and all day Friday.”

However, as much as Lexa was ready to pretend to plead, she also knew what her answer was going to be. Wednesday nights, so long as there were no late meetings, work dinners, or a planned dinner with her sister and nephew, meant that her and Raven would be meeting up with Lincoln at his girlfriend’s bar. Octavia was the proud owner of Music City Den, a small venue open to singers and songwriters to showcase their original work to a low key crowd—the complete opposite of what non-Nashvillers would expect from the town’s music scene. There were no Kid Rock, Guns N’ Roses, or Journey covers with people singing and dancing on bartops, while slinging back shots—it was much more authentic than that. The music was raw, the crowd was local, and Octavia made sure to have the best of Nashville’s local breweries on tap at all times.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. I’ll meet you guys there at nine, I need to get some of this stuff out of the way first,” Lexa succumbed.

Raven let out a knowing grin, “Great, see ya there.”

“Wait,” Lexa called out as the other woman was readying to leave the space, “Do you have a minute? Wanted to run some ideas with you for our holiday party.”

“Sure,” Raven nodded, walking towards an empty chair facing her boss, and taking a seat, “Whatcha thinking?”

“Well,” Lexa started, “I was just going over the results for the year-end survey, and it seems like people are annoyed that our office doesn’t allow pets. I know it’s just the four of us for my team’s outing, but I was thinking instead of the normal dinner and drinks thing, we could do some sort of activity with animals.”

“Dude,” Raven laughed, “All of our work is based around animals.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “Actually, your work is around creating the right formulas for dog food, Linc’s is to find a way to convince people to buy said dog food, Indra’s is to make sure both aforementioned plans are legal, and mine is to make sure you’re all doing a good job at it—I don’t see much about animals there.”

“What, so are you taking us to the zoo?”

“No. Well, I don’t know. I was kind of thinking we donate the budget for the outing to an organization for animal well-being or something. What kind of places are there like that?” Lexa asked, having no idea where to even begin.

“You know, for someone who works in the pet industry, you’d think you’d have all the answers to that already,” Raven sarcastically tapped her finger to the side of her head, “Let me talk to Clarke later, I think I have a good idea.”

Lexa wrinkled her brow, “Clarke?”

“Yeah, Clarke. My old friend that’s crashing with me for a month or so before she finds a place,” Raven reminded her, “You know, the reason why I can’t invite your sister over for sexy times.”

Lexa dropped her jaw as she shook her head, “First of all, my sister would never go for you. Second of all, the reason you’d never invite her over is because you know I’d kill you. Third of all, what does Clarke have to do with our holiday outing plans?”

“I’m going to go ahead and ignore your first point, because neither of us know if that’s actually true since you’ve never let me shoot my shot,” Raven smirked, “But Clarke’s the new head vet at the animal shelter in your hood. Maybe we can donate the money there and also pick a date for us four to spend the day and help out.”

Lexa ignored the former part of Raven’s reply, “That actually sounds perfect. You think Linc and Indra would be down for that?”

“Spending a day with some cute pups in need of some lovin’? Who wouldn’t be down for that?”

“Okay,” Lexa said, standing up and grabbing her bag, “Talk to her and let me know. I’ll see you at O’s later. Thanks, Reyes.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Raven jokingly saluted.

\---

“Griff!” Raven exclaimed as Clarke came through the front door, “How was day three?”

The blonde threw a small smile in her direction, “Pretty good, still trying to navigate the ins and outs of the place, let alone this city.”

Raven nodded as she poured herself a glass of wine, “Drink?”

“Sure, thanks,” Clarke smiled again as she plopped onto the couch, “and thanks again for letting me stay here for a bit, I hope I’m not being too intrusive.”

“Dude, get a grip,” Raven handed her a glass of red as she took a seat next to her, “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want you here. It’s nice to have a friend from back home in town.”

“It’s nice to have someone here that I actually know,” Clarke confessed as she took a sip, “To be honest, sometimes I still wonder why I decided to up and move this way.”

“Sometimes you just need a change of scenery. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that, Griff,” Raven offered, “There are plenty of great people out here, though. You’re not going to have a hard time settling in. Speaking of, I’m grabbing a few drinks with some friends from work tonight, you should definitely come.”

Clarke contemplated it—she knew that she was definitely in the market to meet some fresh faces, especially since the invite came from the only person she actually knew in this city, but as much as she wanted to finally get her feet wet and get to know her new town, she also knew she had an early day ahead.

“If I didn’t have to be at work so early tomorrow, I would. Can I rain check?”

Raven nodded, “Invite’s always open. We try not to miss a Wednesday night because it’s open mic night at Octavia’s bar, which reminds me, you really need to meet her. She’s one of my best friends out here, you guys would get along great.”

“Next time I don’t have an early morning the next day, for sure then,” Clarke took another sip, “Seriously, Rae. Thanks again for everything.”

“You can stop thanking me, Griff,” Raven shifted in her seat, “but I may have a favor that I think you can help out with. I think it would be a win-win for us both, actually.”

“Rae,” Clarke started, “the last time you said that to me, you nearly blew up the chem lab in high school.”

“Okay,” Raven pointed a finger, “I can’t argue that, however this time will actually be a win-win.”

“Okay,” Clarke raised a brow, “go on.”

“I was talking to Lexa today—my boss, but we’re also good friends. She’s who I’m going out with later, but anyway I digress. There are three of us that report into her and she wanted to change things up for our team holiday party this year. Instead of having a night out, she figured it would be cool if we did something animal-related, something for a good cause and donate the party budget to said cause.”

Clarke nodded, “So instead of a party, you guys are going to take the funds and give it to an organization? That’s pretty admirable.”

“Well,” Raven continued, “we also wanted to donate our time. I thought we could volunteer for the day at your shelter and donate the money there, too.”

“Oh,” Clarke realized where this was now going, “the shelter’s fully staffed, though.”

“Aw, come on, Griff. Fecha Foods wants to lend a helping hand,” Raven jokingly wiggled her fingers, “we’ll stay out of everyone’s way and do what we’re told. There are only four of us anyway. Plus, if you bring us in, it’ll look good that you made the connection happen. Come on, Griff.”

Clarke sighed, “I’ll talk to the shelter’s manager tomorrow and see what he thinks.”

Raven set her glass on the table and threw her arms around the blonde, “You’re the best, Clarke. Lexa’s going to be psyched. Thank you!”

“No promises, though! I need to see what Monty says, but I’ll let you know,” Clarke managed to let out, even though Raven’s embrace seemed to have squeezed all the air out of her lungs.

When the brunette finally let go, she picked up her glass and finished off the wine, “You’re the best, Clarke. Are you sure you don’t want to come tonight? Just one drink? It’s not too far from here, just a fifteen minute drive over the river.”

“This,” Clarke raised the glass and took a quick sip, “is tonight’s ‘just one drink.’ Gotta be up bright and early to patch a puppy up. Need to be on my A-game.”

“Fine,” Raven stood up, “but only for the sake of the puppy. Keep me posted on what they say about the volunteer day.”

“Yup, will do,” Clarke relaxed into the depth of the sofa.

“Thanks, Griff. I’d say I owe you one, but given the circumstances of your living situation, looks like we’re even,” Raven laughed as she grabbed her bag and opened the front door.

Clarke rolled her eyes as she flipped through the channels on the TV, “You’re funny, Rae.”

“Don’t you forget it!” the brunette called out right before the door closed.

\---

Lexa shoved her hands into the deep pockets of her long coat—though it wasn’t technically winter yet, the brisk air made her cold fingers believe otherwise. She wasn’t a stranger to chilly weather, however. In actuality, the weather in Nashville was quite tame compared to the Catskill Mountains, where she and Anya grew up. She had spent the majority of her life in New York, whether it was back home in the mountains, or in the city where she jump started her career directly following business school.

She had always liked Nashville—she’d have the odd visit here and there to visit Anya during her undergrad years at Vanderbuilt, and made even more of an effort when her older sister decided it was where she wanted to raise her son, Aden. When Indra, a former professor from NYU, called her about a role opening up at Fecha Foods—one that would be a promotion compared to her current job, one that she knew would eventually lead to an even bigger role at the company if she stayed on for a few years—it only made sense for her to take it.

It was undoubtedly a big change for her, but the step forward was something she didn’t even realize she needed. The slightly slower pace of living, having more balance for her work and personal life—albeit outside her sister, her best friends ended up consisting of her coworkers—she was happy with where she ended up. New York had too many tainted memories, and the tiny apartment that she stubbornly held onto for so many years, even after Costia had left, had started to feel like a shoebox of a prison. It was only in hindsight that the one redeeming quality of the space was the rent-controlled price.

She rounded the corner and a slight grin appeared on her face. Thankful to only live a seven-minute walk from the bar, the sight before her never ceased to amaze her. Every Wednesday night, a line formed outside of young musicians trying to make their break in the music-obsessed city. Glancing over at Lincoln, manning the sign-up sheet at the door, she couldn’t help but wonder how the man had enough energy to do his day job, then at night, help his girlfriend out with her bar—_must be love_.

Her grin grew as she got closer, seeing the man take notice of her arrival.

“There she is,” he smiled and waved her to the front of the entryway, “Raven’s inside already, she just got here a few minutes ago. I’ll see you guys when I’m done out here.”

She nodded as she placed her hand on his shoulder, “We’ll grab you a beer. Anything new on tap tonight?”

“Oh yeah,” the man smirked, “Black Abbey sent over a keg of some collaboration beer they just made. We’re the only venue in the city to carry it, you gotta try it out. I think it’s called the Old 95, but watch out because its 9%.”

“Sounds like my kind of beer,” she matched his smirk.

As Lexa made her way through the small, yet crowded space, she felt a genuine sense of pride for the establishment. Although she had absolutely nothing to do with its booming success amongst the local crowd, she was enamored that her friend had a vision and followed through with it—she was also quite pleased that it ended up being the kind of place she’d want to spend her nights, and was even more pleased that it was so close to her house.

She knew she wouldn’t have to scan the crowd to find her friend—the group always found themselves huddled in the same corner at the bartop, a space Octavia always held for the trio on Wednesday nights. Raven was already perched on a stool, sipping what looked to be a darker ale—probably the same recommendation Lincoln threw her way.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Lexa smiled as she took the seat next to Raven.

Her friend spun around in her stool to face the same direction as her—away from the stage and towards the bar, “I’m sure Linc told you already, but you have to try this. It’s like velvet goodness,” she slid her glass across the bartop towards Lexa.

“This is dangerous,” Lexa swallowed a sip of the delicious beer, “it tastes like vanilla and caramel, it doesn’t even taste like it would be a 9% beer.”

“No, I know,” Raven smirked, “it’s on special with a shot of whiskey,” she waved Octavia over, letting her know that Lexa had arrived, “O, get the lady one of these and a shot, will ya?”

Octavia nodded as she poured two shots of Jameson and started to fill two pint glasses from the tap—she likely knew her boyfriend wasn’t far behind, “Did you eat already, Lex? Or do you want me to have the guys whip something up for you?”

“Just drinks tonight, O, but thanks. Made something quick at home before I headed over,” Lexa smiled as she raised the shot glass to her lips, then immediately taking a sip of the creamy beer, “Damn, those taste good together.”

“That’s why it’s this week’s special,” Octavia winked before turning her attention back to the rest of the patrons.

“Alright,” Lincoln’s voice filled their space, “time for some music and a drink.”

As if his sentence was some sort of cue, the lights dimmed and a spotlight appeared on the small stage—a young guy, he couldn’t have been older than twenty three, stepped out onto the stage with an acoustic guitar and started singing a song about letting go of his love, so she could be free.

“He’s a baby,” Lexa observed, “what does he know about love, let alone having to give it up?”

“Bitter party of one,” Raven leaned over Lexa to catch Lincoln’s attention, “I think someone needs to get some.”

“It was just an observation,” Lexa rolled her eyes, “And I do not need to ‘get some,’ I’m fine.”

“Speaking of getting some,” Raven quipped, “I got some good news—Clarke’s talking to the shelter’s manager tomorrow about our volunteer day. I think she’ll be able to make it work for us. What dates did you have in mind? I’ll shoot them over to her so she can let them know when she asks.”

Lincoln raised a brow, “Volunteer day?”

“Yeah,” Raven started, “Kris Kringle over here wanted to do something different for our team holiday thing this year, so instead of wining and dining us, she’s going to bring us to an animal shelter and volunteer our time and party funds.”

“Sounds like a PR move, Lex,” Lincoln laughed, “but I think it’s a pretty good idea. Spending some time with puppies probably makes sense in our line of work.”

“That’s what I figured,” Lexa shrugged, “and we’ll be giving back to the local community—it’s a no brainer. And I’ll take you guys to happy hour after, anyway.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Now give me some dates,” Raven reminded.

“I’m really shooting for next Friday, I looked at everyone’s calendars and it was the lightest on meetings. Indra’s taking the following week off, and I really want to make sure we’re all able to be there.”

Raven nodded as she whipped out her phone and began typing:

_Raven:_  
_You’re missing out on some good drinks and music, Griff. You really shoulda come. Sitting with Lexa now, we’re thinking next Friday for the volunteer thing._

A few seconds went by before Raven saw three dots blinking on the screen.

_Clarke:_  
_The next time I don’t have an early Thursday, I promise I’ll be there. And yeah, I’ll let Monty know when he gets in tomorrow, I’ll keep you posted._

Raven waved her phone in Lexa’s face, “Done and done.”

“She still has to ask, Reyes. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a done deal,” Lexa smirked, taking another sip of her beer, “let me know what she says tomorrow.”

Lexa turned her attention back to the young musician on the stage, his next song was a little more upbeat—something about how the only things he needed in his life were a glass of whiskey in his hand and his old dog by his side. She smiled and nodded along to the melody and realized that what he was singing about sounded like something she could want.


	2. The Not-So Meet Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this next bit. Lexa and Clarke finally cross paths, but it probably doesn't go as anyone would hope. Major thanks to my buddy @kay_be for helping me proof and edit this chapter!
> 
> I'm hoping to stick to a weekly posting cadence for this. Make sure to follow me on Tumblr (https://cantgetoutofmyheda.tumblr.com/) for previews / updates to my posting cadence. Shoot me questions here or there re: this fic. Happy to answer anything. :)
> 
> As always, thank you guys for reading, subscribing, and commenting. Throw me a comment below and let me know what you think!

The smell that filled the foyer was one of Lexa’s favorites—her sister had to have been making her spin on their late-mother’s most prized dish: a Mississippi roast. Lexa entered the craftsman-style house with ease. With the exception of her office and Music City Den, Anya’s place had nearly become her second home. She made her best effort to have a meal with her sister and nephew at least once a week, attempting to make up for the time lost during her busier years in New York.

“Smells great,” Lexa called towards the kitchen, as she hung her coat up on the rack near the front door, “smells like you’re making my favorite.”

“That’s because I am,” her sister called from the kitchen, “it’s almost done, get in here and help your nephew set the table.”

Lexa smiled as she made her way over, she hadn’t seen Aden in over a week—schedules were jam-packed the week prior, but that was to be expected with the holidays quickly approaching. She knew that kids were inevitable someday—it was always in the plan, _their plan_. It wasn’t until Aden was born that she realized how in love she could actually fall with a tiny human.

She stepped into the space, leaning in the doorway to watch the young boy—correction: young man—set the table. On his eleventh birthday earlier in the year, he proudly puffed up his chest and told his mom and aunt that he was now a young man, and should be referred to as so.

He was standing over the place settings, plates sat atop placemats, and napkins were nestled atop each plate. His tongue was peeking through his mouth and he had a look of concern on his face—the young man was in thought.

“Whatcha thinking about, buddy?” Lexa called out, still leaning in the doorway.

He shook his head, “I can’t remember what side these go on,” he held up the forks and knives in his hand.

Lexa made her approach to the table, “You can put the forks on the left and knives on the right.”

He nodded his head and started putting the silverware down, “Cool! Thanks, Lex!”

When he was finished, he proudly stood back to admire his work—his eyes were glued on the table, so the arms that wrapped around him from behind took him by surprise, “Woah!” he exclaimed, as his aunt’s grip took a stronger hold.

“I missed you, kid,” Lexa smiled, before finally letting go, “nice job on the table. You’re basically a pro,” she ruffled his hair and then started her way towards her sister to give her an embrace, as well.

“How’s your week going?” Anya asked, after pulling away from her sister. Her roast had just come out of the oven, looking and smelling as divine as ever. She began to cut and shred the meat, readying their feast.

Lexa grabbed a sliver of pepperoncini off the serving platter, motioning for Aden to watch her slyly sneak the bite without Anya noticing. She turned her attention back to her sister, “It’s going, just busier than usual around this time of year. I have my team holiday thing tomorrow, though.”

“I saw that,” Anya quipped, Lexa was always known to try and ‘taste test’ food before it was served—she was just never as sneaky as she thought. Anya motioned towards a bowl of roasted fingerling potatoes for Lexa to carry over to the table, as the older sister had her hands full with the serving platter holding the main course, “and that sounds fun, tell us about it while we eat? Unless it’s not PG.”

Lexa took her cue and set the potatoes down in front of Aden’s place setting, knowing well that the boy enjoyed potatoes more than anything, “It’s a work holiday outing, what wouldn’t be PG about it?”

“Christmas 2017, Lex,” Anya reminder her, causing her son’s head to jut up from the bowl of food in front of him.

The boy’s eyes widened, “What happened at your Christmas party in 2017?”

Lexa eyed her sister, who replied with a ‘don’t you dare’ stare, then looked back to her nephew with a smirk, “Nothing, buddy. We just went out and had a good time. Danced a bit, watched others dance a bit… you know, just had a good time.”

Aden wore a puzzling look on his face, “Watched others–”

“Yes, sweetie,” Anya jumped in, “they went to a club and danced, and other people danced too, that’s all Lexa was saying,” she shot her younger sister the kind of glare a parent knew how to give, “Right, Lex?”

Lexa bit the side of her cheek, “Sure. Yep, that’s right,” she helped herself to a giant serving of the roast, “But like I was saying, it’ll be PG. I’m old now, I don’t do wild nights anymore.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that you’re in your thirties, did your AARP membership card arrive yet?” Anya teased as she forked a potato, “If you’re old, what does that make me? Geriactric?”

“You’re not old yet, mom,” Aden spoke up before taking a bite of his food—the boy had managed to already eat half a plate of potatoes, “don’t worry.”

Anya smirked at her son, “You’re my favorite child, Aden.”

“I’m supposed to be,” he turned his head to his mom, “I’m your only one.”

“Lexa counts, too,” Anya threw her sister a cheeky grin, “but back to what you were saying, Lex. Where are you taking the team to dinner this year? Haven’t you been wanting to try that place in the Gulch? The Chef & I? That’d be a perfect excuse to expense a dinner there.”

Lexa scrunched her nose as her sister’s recommendation, “Dammit–”

“Language,” Anya sternly reminded her.

Lexa looked between her sister and her nephew who seemed to enjoy the banter between the two, “Sorry, I meant dangit. No dinner and night out this year, I figured we’d try something different. Do something that’s actually meaningful.”

“Oh,” Anya was surprised, “that seems like a good idea. Are you trying to use it as a PR play for the company?”

Lexa shook her head, “Why is everyone saying that? Linc said that same thing last week when I told him the plan. It’s not a da–,” she corrected herself before her sister could, “dang PR play. We’re going to the animal shelter by my house to volunteer for the day and then we’re going to donate the money that we would have used for dinner and drinks to the shelter.”

“Woah,” Aden’s eyes lit up, “Are you going to get to play with puppies all day?”

Lexa smiled at her nephew, “Well, I’m not sure what we’re going to be doing yet, they’re assigning us all tasks tomorrow. And it’s not just puppies, they have some adult dogs that need homes, too.”

“Mom!” he turned to Anya, “Can we get a dog?”

The older sister, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night, shot Lexa another glare, “Aden, I think that’s something we can talk about when you’re a little older. Pets are a big responsibility. You have to feed them, walk them, bathe them, make sure they’re getting all their energy out—it’s a lot.”

“Mom, please,” Aden asked again, “I have a lot of energy too, so we can play together! And I bet Lex can get us free dog food!”

“You’ve got a smart kid,” Lexa smirked as she popped a piece of potato in her mouth.

Anya shook her head at her sister before looking back at Aden, “Let’s talk about this on your thirteenth birthday, okay?”

The boy—correction: young man—slumped back into his chair and propped his elbows on top of the table, “Fine.”

“Hey,” Lexa offered, “that’s not so far away, little guy. How about I send you guys pictures of some of the dogs tomorrow to hold you over until then?”

Aden cocked his head to the side as he addressed his aunt, “Can I just come with you?”

“Aw, buddy,” Lexa’s expression softened, “not tomorrow, because it’s a work thing. I know we’re supposed to hang out Sunday while mom’s at work, how about I take you there, then?”

“Lex,” Anya scolded, “I just told him he can’t get a dog for at least another two years, and now you’re telling him in two days, you’re going to take him to see a bunch that are up for adoption?”

“I’ve got to keep my rep as his favorite aunt, Ahn,” Lexa shrugged.

Anya took a deep breath and matched her sister’s tone, “You’re his only aunt, Lex.”

“Mom, please!” Aden begged, “I promise I won’t ask for a dog until I’m thirteen. We’re just going to look at them and play with them. Please, mom?”

Anya looked between Aden and Lexa, both suddenly sporting matching pairs of puppy dog-eyes and pouts, “Fine.”

\---

She didn’t know how she never noticed the sound before—the barking was noisy, and she was still a block away from the shelter. She had probably walked by the building while running errands or on the way to different bars and restaurants in her neighborhood, but now that she was acutely aware of where she was going, she couldn’t escape the noise.

Lexa had never spent much time around animals, which was ironic for the line of work she was in. Her and Anya didn’t have pets growing up—looking back, she wasn’t resentful of not having the added chore, but she couldn’t help but wonder how their childhood would have differed with a puppy or kitten running around the house. During college, having lived in a few apartments that surprisingly didn’t put as big of a dent in her pocket as the campus dorms, her roommates always tossed around the idea of adopting a dog, but they ultimately never did, realizing how busy their schedules had gotten. Then, there was Costia—_they_ had a plan. A dog was part of it, mostly because of her then-girlfriend turned fiance’s urging, but the plan was to get married, have kids, then get a dog when the kids were old enough. They never even made it to the first part.

She sighed as she rounded the block to approach the building, surprised at the structure before her. She likely never realized it was there, because it wasn’t some sad, sterile animal prison like she had envisioned. The building looked like any other Nashville craftsman-style house, just vastly larger. She reached into her pocket to check her phone and saw that she was right on time, 9AM on the dot.

Inside, the sound of barking animals was exponentially louder than it was from outside. Her eyes widened, taking in the space—there was a small welcome desk, bins that looked to have toys and leashes in them, a door to the main office, a door to the veterinary wing, and a larger metal door that she assumed lead to the dog kennels.

“Top of the mornin’,” Raven chimed, stepping out from behind the front desk.

Lexa raised a brow and smiled at the woman, “On front desk duties today, Reyes?”

“Nah, was just scopin’ out the area. I’m assigned vet duties with Clarke,” the woman shrugged.

“Oh, is she here? I wanted to thank her for helping us pull this off,” Lexa said, her green eyes wandering around the small room they were in.

“Don’t think so,” Raven answered, “I left early and came straight from the gym. If she’s not here, she should be soon, she told me she started at nine.”

Lexa nodded, “Okay, make sure to introduce me so I can thank her. Have you heard from Indra or Linc?”

“Yeah,” Raven laughed, “they’re in the kennel looking at the dogs. They couldn’t wait. Think they’re trying to figure out what jobs they want so they can call dibs.”

“We’re not in middle school, Reyes,” Lexa deadpanned, “no one says that anymore.”

“Morning!” a man exited the main office into the reception area, “Are you Lexa? I’m Monty,” he extended his hand to shake hers, “Thanks so much for having your team come and volunteer, it’s always great to have some extra help around here.”

“Nice to meet you,” she grabbed his hand into a firm shake, “thank you for accommodating us in such short notice. I’m not sure if you’ve spoken to Raven already, but I’ll be back Monday with a donation check. Our accounts payable team had left the office yesterday by the time I came around to grab it from then.”

“No worries,” he smiled, “when Lincoln and Indra get back from checking the dogs out, I can assign you guys some tasks for the day. Sound good?”

Lexa nodded, “Yeah, that’s perfect.”

\---

“Come on, Indra,” the man whined, “trade with me.”

The woman looked up from her post behind the front desk and raised her brow, “Are you serious? You really think that I’d rather give thirty dogs a bath, than do this?”

“What even is it that you’re supposed to be doing?” Lincoln prodded.

“Not sure,” Indra took a sip of her coffee, “but I’m sure it’s better than that.”

The man turned to Lexa, “Hey, Lex.”

“No way,” she immediately shot him down, then made her way into the kennel without looking back.

“Raven?”

Raven put her hands in the air, “On vet duties. Clarke’s orders.”

“When are we going to meet the infamous Clarke?” Lincoln asked, looking down at his watch. It was now 9:15AM—Monty had assigned everyone their tasks for the day: Indra was at the welcome desk, Lexa was walking the dogs, Lincoln was bathing the dogs, and Raven was assisting the vet team.

“She’s running late,” Monty chimed in, “she just sent a message saying there’s some construction that’s causing a major backup. She should be there soon, though!”

\---

Lexa walked up and down the aisles of dogs a few times, trying to get a grasp on each of them. She knew that she didn’t necessarily have to walk each and every one of them—after all, the East Nashville Animal Shelter had a team dedicated to do that—but she sure as hell wanted to help out as much as she could while she was there. She sized up a few of the dogs, mostly mid-sized mutts, but figured with her lack of pet-owning knowledge, she should go for one of the smaller ones first.

She spotted a small chihuahua mix—the thing couldn’t have weighed more than three pounds. Lexa let herself into his kennel to try and hook him onto the leash. Before she knew it, the little thing nipped at her ankles.

“Ah,” she jumped back, “you little shit.”

Never one to give up on anything, she lurched forward and in one fell swoop, managed to clip the tiny monster onto the leash. Freddie—his name was in big blue letters on the cage’s door—didn’t seem to be as pleased as Lexa was, but reluctantly followed her out to go on his walk.

Lexa couldn’t help but think her task at hand was fairly simple. Freddie had done his business and was now running up and down the dog run at the side of the building. A few other dogs were out there with him, but the snappy little thing mostly kept to himself, aside from when he was stealing toys from other dogs.

When she got him settled back in his kennel, she walked the aisles a few more times to see who she was going to take outside, next. Her eyes landed on a stocky-looking bulldog. His stature reminded her of an offensive lineman, he was certainly a solid dog. The only thing was that he was actually a she.

“Aw, I’m sorry, sweet girl,” Lexa cooed at the dog as she approached her with the leash, “I shouldn’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover.”

Dani was much easier to grab a hold of, in comparison to Freddie. She was sweet and seemed genuinely excited to have some solo attention on her. Unlike Freddie, Dani’s notes said that she was fine to be off leash. Opting for something different than the dog run, Lexa brought out a slew of toys to see what would be of interest to the dog—they mutually decided that they liked the raccoon-shaped chew toy the best. Lexa would throw it as far as she could, and Dani—poor Dani—would take off running, though very slow compared to some of the more nimble breeds, to retrieve the toy back to Lexa. With every return of the toy, she was awarded a Fecha Foods dog treat. Lexa wasn’t sure if Dani was actually enjoying the game of fetch, or if she was just in it for the reward she knew she’d be getting, but either way she was happy doing what she was doing.

When Dani finally slowed down, Lexa figured the dog was starting to wear out. She gave her one last treat, paired with a few scratches behind her ears, and leashed her back up to take her inside.

“What’s with the grin?” Indra asked with questioning eyes as Lexa walked in.

Lexa shrugged, “Just having fun, I’m glad we did this,” she turned to Raven who was standing behind the front desk next to Indra, “is Clarke here yet?”

“Nope,” Raven tapped the desk, “any minute, but I’ve just been stuck here watching Indra do nothing.”

“Hey,” the older woman slapped her arm, “I’m doing things.”

“Saying ‘hello’ to people as they walk in is barely anything,” Raven rolled her eyes, “I want to get in on the action. Lexa’s out there running around and having fun, and I’m stuck with you, waiting for my roommate to get here to boss me around while she does her job.”

Lexa arched a brow, “You realize this whole thing was your idea, right, Reyes?”

“Yeah, but I thought I’d be doing what you were,” Raven huffed.

Lexa nodded, “How about after lunch, after you do a little work with Clarke, we can all rotate? As long as Monty’s fine with it, then I don’t see a problem with us doing that.”

Raven clasped her hands together, “Thank God.”

“I’m going to take Dani back and grab another pup to take out. She was so good, you guys should have seen her out there—being all out of shape, but still wanting to play,” Lexa beamed.

“Watch out, boss,” Raven nudged her, “keep it up and you might be walking out of here with one of these rascals.”

Lexa scoffed, “I don’t know a thing about animals, that’s going to be a hard no for me, Reyes.”

After Lexa settled Dani back into her spot, clad with the raccoon toy she seemed to have taken a liking to, and a secret handful of treats, Lexa prowled around the aisles to see which dog was up next. Feeling overly confident from her time with Dani, she wanted to have a hand at a bigger dog, perhaps one with slightly more energy to play a little bit longer outside. She rounded a corner and realized there was a kennel she hadn’t noticed before. The dog inside was much bigger than Dani and definitely looked like he had more energy than her as well.

She took a step closer to the cage, reading the description hanging, “Hmm. Name: Bear. Breed: Pitbull and German Shepherd mix. Adult male. Energetic. Good with other dogs. Good with kids. Keep leashed at all times.”

Lexa looked into the kennel and Bear was looking right back at her—the dog never broke eye contact, it was almost as if he was begging with literal puppy dog eyes for her to let him out of the confined space. However, as still as his body was, his tail was wagging uncontrollably—he definitely wanted Lexa to take him out. She gave him a slight nod before letting herself into the kennel. To her surprise, as soon as she approached him, he ran to the corner opposite from Lexa.

“Oh,” Lexa said to him, “so we’re playing a little game, now, huh?”

As soon as she took a step towards him, Bear started chasing his own tail.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered at the dog, “Come on, don’t you want to go out?”

As soon as the last word escaped her mouth, Bear seemed to have snapped his attention back towards what Lexa was offering, because once he heard the word ‘out,’ he went barreling through the cage door—apparently Lexa hadn’t latched the damn thing all the way down.

“Bear!”

She called after him, but it didn’t do much of anything. The dog was running up and down the aisles of kennels, barking and receiving even more barks from every dog behind the doors of their own cages.The commotion was definitely heard from the reception area, because seconds later, Monty appeared through the metal doors, asking if everything was okay.

Things were far from okay.

Not realizing there was a dog running around off leash, Monty held the door for a fraction of a second too long, because Bear ended up making his great escape.

“Shit,” Lexa said to herself as she sprinted after him. She called his name as she made her way through the door, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what had happened.

Bear had knocked someone over. The said person was on the ground with a coffee spilled all over her white blouse and looked as if she was ready to kill someone—Lexa was familiar with the look, because it was the same one Anya shared with her the previous night when she told Aden she’d bring him to the animal shelter over the weekend.

“Bear, get back here,” Lexa yelled at the dog, “come on!”

“They don’t always know what you’re saying, you know,” the woman on the ground mumbled.

Bear was standing off to the side of her, sitting and smiling at Lexa, as if he had done something to have been proud of.

“Right,” Lexa nodded, “here, let me help you.”

She briskly walked the span of the small room in order to reach for the woman to get up, but as she did that, Bear probably assumed he was coming to play with her. As Lexa bent forward and the woman reached to get up, Bear knocked into Lexa’s back, forcing the brunette’s weight on the other woman, sending her back down to the ground.

“Oh my God,” Lexa covered her mouth as she found her balance, “oh my God, I am so sorry,” she turned her attention to the dog—he had picked up the leash in his mouth and took off again, “Bear, what the fuck?”

At the sound of his name, the dog started running circles around the woman on the ground. With each lap, the leash got more and more tangled around her legs, and Lexa realized that somehow, this entire situation was getting exponentially worse as each second passed.

Thankfully, Monty got a hold of the dog, put a new leash on him, and despite his barks of protest, brought him back into his kennel. The woman, finally standing up, was patting her pants down and angrily looked down at her coffee-stained top.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Lexa started, “I live really close, I can run to my place and get you something to change into.”

The woman threw her another glare and ignored her assistance, “How the hell did he get out here without being on a leash? It’s literally written on his sheet—he is to be leashed at all times, yet somehow, he managed to get himself out here, unsupervised.”

“Look,” Lexa threw her hands up in defense, “his kennel door wasn’t latched all the way and when I tried to get him on the leash,” which she waved in the woman’s face, “he ran away. Monty opened the door because he heard all the commotion, and Bear ran out here. I’m sorry, okay?”

“What if it wasn’t me? What if it was some little kid that got knocked down?” the woman hissed, “What if there was a volatile dog out here? There are so many ways that could have gone even more south than it already did, and it’s all because you couldn’t be bothered to latch a simple lock properly.”

“Listen,” Lexa cocked her head to the side, “you seem to be okay and the dog’s okay, so there’s nothing to mourn here.”

The woman shook her head, “Oh yeah? My shirt begs to differ.”

Before Lexa could reply, the door to the vet wing swung open and Raven couldn’t help but laugh at the woman covered in coffee, “Clarke, what the hell happened to you?”

Lexa immediately turned her attention back to the woman, “You’re Clarke?”

“Yeah,” Raven answered for her, then turned to the blonde, “Clarke, I see you’ve already met Lexa?”

Clarke’s eyes widened at the realization that the woman in front of her was her roommate’s boss, “Shit.”


	3. Biscuits and Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa spends the morning with Aden and takes him to the animal shelter to play with some of the doggos.
> 
> \---
> 
> Thanks for your patience with this update! Make sure to follow me on Tumblr (https://cantgetoutofmyheda.tumblr.com/) for previews and updates to my posting cadence. Shoot me questions here or there re: this fic. Happy to answer anything. :)
> 
> As always, thank you guys for reading, subscribing, and commenting. Throw me a comment below and let me know what you think!

“Aden,” Lexa nudged the boy’s shoulder, “are you sure this is what you want? The line is insane.”

She wasn’t wrong—there seemed to be a good thirty people ahead of them, waiting outside in a winding line, mostly dressed in cheap cowboy boots and bundled in winter coats. When she picked Aden up from Anya’s coffee shop to start their day together, she had told him they could get breakfast anywhere he wanted. However, she didn’t foresee him choosing one of their city’s biggest Sunday morning tourist destinations: Biscuit Love.

The boy shrugged, “I want biscuits and gravy.”

“We can get that anywhere, though,” she said, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “but I like these best.”

She took his hand to ruffle his hair, “Whatever you want, kid.”

The following five minutes felt like thirty—only a few people ahead of them had gotten into the building, and Lexa had soon realized that the pair weren’t dressed to be outside for so long. Lexa looked to her nephew and saw the tips of his ears and nose turning a light shade of pink, and was holding his hands inside his coat pockets. She took out her phone and checked the time, before firing off a text message.

_Lexa:_   
_Are you home by any chance?_

She stared at the screen for what felt like another eternity before the device vibrated in her ice cold hand.

_Raven:_   
_Sure am. What up?_

_Lexa:_   
_Aden wanted to go to Biscuit Love for breakfast, we’re on line now. Care to join?_

_Raven:_   
_You’re paying?_

_Lexa:_   
_Obviously._

_Raven:_   
_Okay, I’m game. I’ll be there in 5._

_Lexa:_   
_Can you bring an extra hat and gloves for him?_

_Raven:_   
_… I see where my invite stemmed from. But yes, see you in a few._

Lexa smirked at her phone before tucking it back into her pocket and turning her attention back to her nephew, “Aden, Raven’s going to meet us for breakfast. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” he smiled, “is she going to come look at puppies with us after?”

Lexa gave the boy a light smile, “You’re more than welcome to invite her if you want, buddy.”

“Okay, cool!” he said, taking a few steps forward as the line moved up, “maybe she’ll want to bring a dog home and we can help her pick it out.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm, “I don’t know about that, but you can always ask.”

“Hmm,” he nodded, “okay.”

The line slightly moved again. Another five people had been let inside, giving Lexa the hope that they wouldn’t be standing outside in the cold forever. She wrapped her arms around her nephew, in an attempt to warm him up just a little bit until got there with the cold-weather supplies.

“Sorry it’s so cold,” she offered as she ran her hands up and down his arms.

Aden turned around to face her, “It’s okay, this was my idea. Plus, I’m a big kid now. I can handle it.”

Lexa’s lips tugged into a smirk, “I don’t think being a big kid would stop your body from getting a cold, Ade.”

“Yeah, but I’m tough now,” he smiled up at her.

“You’ve always need tough,” she nudged his shoulder and noticed a large group ahead of them being ushered inside, “but tough kids still catch colds, so we have to be careful.”

After a few more minutes, the pair heard a voice call out from behind them, “I’m liking the last minute invite for the sole reason that I don’t have to wait on this crazy line.”

“Raven!” the boy exclaimed, running up to the woman to give her a hug, “Would you ever get a dog?”

Raven raised a brow at Lexa before plopping a beanie on the boy’s head and handing him a pair of gloves, “Here,” she stated, “put these on. And what’s this about a dog?”

“Lex told me about the animal shelter and we’re going there after brunch. Do you want to come? If you want a dog, we can help pick one out for you,” he beamed.

Raven shook her head at her boss, then turned back to Aden, “I don’t know, buddy. I don’t think I can make it today, but maybe next time we hang out you can tell me about all the different dogs you meet?”

“Okay, yeah,” he smiled, “Do you think you guys can convince my mom to let us get one?”

“Aden,” Lexa started, “I thought we agreed that today was just for looking. Remember?”

He huffed then looked to Raven to help him out.

“Don’t look at me,” she smirked, “I’m trying to get on your mom’s good side. I can’t be doing anything that’ll set her off.”

“Why are you trying to get on her good side?” the boy questioned.

Raven’s smirk grew, “Because when you want to get in someone’s pan–”

Lexa widened her eyes, “Because Raven wants to be better friends with your mom, Ade.”

“Right, yeah,” Raven winked.

Before Lexa had time to throw another glare at her friend, she realized they had made their way to the front of the line. The door was being held open by someone inside, welcoming the group into the warmth. Once inside, the three were met with the most delicious aroma of freshly baked, buttery biscuits and all the amazing fixings to go with them.

“Does everyone know what they want?” Lexa asked, as she handed a menu to Raven.

“Hmm,” Raven scanned the paper, “what do you recommend little guy?”

Aden smiled, “Biscuits and sausage gravy!”

“Is that what you’re getting?” Raven asked with a smile matching his.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “it’s the best breakfast in the whole wide world, Raven!”

“Okay,” Raven pat him on the back, “biscuits and gravy for me, too.”

Lexa smiled at the two then turned her attention to the girl at the counter, “Make that three, please. And two coffees, three waters, and an orange juice.”

The girl nodded as she swiped the card Lexa had handed her, before handing it back along with a number to post up on their table, “Drinks are over there. Grab any open table and your food will be right out. Enjoy!”

\---

“Ade,” Lexa watched in amazement as her nephew swallowed half of a biscuit without chewing, “slow down, your food isn't going anywhere.”

The boy couldn’t bare to take his eyes off the plate in front of him, “But it’s so good.”

“I know, buddy,” Lexa sighed, “just slow down and don’t forget to chew your food, okay?”

“Okay, fine. But the sooner we’re done here, the sooner we can go see the dogs, right?” he asked without looking up, his attention still on the last few bites of food on his plate.

Lexa looked to Raven, “Yeah, but that also means less time with Raven.”

“But I can see Raven whenever I want,” he stated between bites. “I never get to go and play with puppies and dogs.”

The latina feigned hurt, “Ouch, little man. I came all this way to bring you a hat and gloves and have breakfast with you, and this is how you treat me?

“Sorry, Raven,” he smiled, “but I haven’t played with puppies ever since I was a kid.”

Raven couldn’t help but laugh at the boy’s comment—he always seemed to be wiser beyond his years, but that was likely due to bring brought up by the older Woods sister, “It’s okay, I get it, bud.” She turned her direction towards Lexa and raised a brow at her friend, “Did your aunt tell you about what happened when we went to the shelter for work the other day?”

Finally finished with his meal, the boy put his fork down and eagerly shot his head up towards the two adults sitting across him, “No! Did something funny happen?”

“Raven, quit it,” Lexa shook her head at her nephew, trying to spare herself the embarrassing recollection.

Raven brushed off Lexa’s remark and kept her attention on the young boy, “Something funny, indeed. Your genius aunt over here didn’t lock a kennel up properly and a dog got out and pummeled the vet down. Her coffee spilled all over her clothes, just because Lexa forgot to latch the lock closed.”

“Lex!” Aden exclaimed, dramatically turning his attention to his aunt, “Are they going to let us in there since you made an uh oh?”

“We’ll be fine, Aden,” Lexa assured the boy, while throwing a small glare in Raven’s direction, “They already know we’re coming and they’re excited for you to be able to meet all the dogs.”

The boy nodded, “Okay. We need to make sure we’re careful today so we don’t get in trouble. Is the vet okay?”

“You can ask her today,” Raven smirked. “She should be there when you guys get there.”

Lexa huffed and rolled her eyes, “Oh, great. Can’t wait to see her.”

Aden reached across the table to place his hand on his aunt’s arm, “Lex, you gotta be nice to her because it was your fault she fell. Did you say ‘sorry?’ Mom always tells me it’s important to apologize if you make a mistake.”

“Ade,” her expression softened as the young boy’s words tugged at her heart, “of course I apologized, and I took full blame. We’ll be extra careful today to make sure everything goes properly. And if we see Dr. Clarke today, don’t bring any of this up.”

“Why?” his quizzical look was as adorable as ever.

“Because your aunt doesn’t want to remind Clarke of why she dislikes her,” Raven smiled at her own cheeky remark.

\---

The sound of incessant barking could likely be seen as an annoyance, but the smile plastered on Aden’s face seemed to be quite the opposite.

“Lex, it’s not fair,” the boy said, taking hasty steps towards the front door of the animal shelter.

She tried her best to keep up with him, “What isn’t, bud?”

He turned around to see she was only a few steps behind him, as he brought his hand to the knob on the door, “You get to live so close to all the puppies! Can we go in?”

She couldn’t help but smile at his excitement, “Yep, but don’t run off. We need to check in at the front before we can go see the dogs. We have to listen to the rules and make sure we follow them properly, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded, before holding the door open for his aunt.

The barking grew louder as the pair situated in the welcome area of the shelter. Aden, eyes wide open, spun around several times, taking everything in—baskets of toys, photos of animals, sounds of dogs waiting to be taken out. The young boy was in a heaven he didn’t even know existed.

“Hi, Lexa!” a voice beamed from behind the desk before smiling down at the eager boy, “Who do we have here today?”

“Hey Monty,” she greeted the man, “This is my nephew Aden. We came to see if it would be okay to take some of the dogs on a walk. He was very excited to hear about the Fecha Foods volunteer day and was pretty bummed that he wasn’t able to come with.”

“Nice to meet you, Aden,” Monty came around from behind the desk to shake the boy’s hand, “You’re always welcome here to help out. Did your aunt tell you how much fun she had on Friday?”

The boy nodded, “She told me she made an uh oh, and that we need to listen to you for all the rules and that we need to make sure we follow them all.” He looked back up at Lexa, “If I follow them all, then can we come back here more?”

Lexa rubbed his shoulder, “As long as it’s okay with Monty and your mom, then I don’t see why not, buddy.”

“It’s more than fine by me,” Monty smiled, then added, “and you’re right. Lexa made a little uh oh when she was here, but we’ll make sure nothing like that happens again.”

“I’m really good at following rules, so as long as you tell me what to do, I’ll make sure I do it,” the boy puffed his chest.

With a smile clad on his face, Monty crossed his arms, “The biggest, most important rule is to make sure each kennel and cage is properly locked, so the dogs can’t get out. We only take one out at a time when there’s only one adult walker. Each dog is very different, so they all have their own little rules which are posted outside of their kennels. Just make sure you both read them carefully and ask me if you have any questions you’re unsure of. Other than that, you guys are good to go. Lexa knows where the leashes and toys are, and knows where to take them all.”

Aden looked between Lexa and the doors that stood between them and the room full of dogs, “So can we go now?”

Lexa looked up at Monty who was already giving her a thumbs up, “Sure. Let’s go, bud.”

They weaved through the rows of kennels, similar to the fashion that Lexa did just two days prior. She wanted the boy to have a similar experience as she did—get a feel for the space and see which of the dogs really caught his attention. She let him take the lead and followed him until they got to a dog that Lexa was all too familiar with.

She knelt down on to the ground and smiled at the animal behind the cage door, though he was sitting calmly, his tail started wagging from side-to-side, “Hi, Bear. How are you doing in there?”

“Did you play with him on Friday?” Aden asked as he observed his aunt.

“I did,” she smiled, “he’s the one that got out of his cage. Want to come inside and say ‘hi’ with me?”

“Okay, but can you make sure you lock it the right way?” Aden smirked at her.

“Hey,” Lexa turned around, “If you sass me again, I’m taking you home.”

The boy put his hands in the air and smiled at his aunt, waiting for her to open the small door to allow them entry.

“Hey, boy,” she smiled down at the dog, petting the top of his head. Looking back to Friday, he was definitely more calm during this visit. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she recognized her, or he may have been tired out from a previous walk. “Come here and meet him, Ade.”

Aden slightly bent down to match the dog’s height. To his surprise, the animal was quite larger than he realized, and didn’t have to bend down that far, “Hey, Bear. Do you want to go play?”

As soon as Bear heard Aden’s last word, his calmness vanished, and the hyper dog from Friday finally made a re-appearance. His tail started wagging at a faster rate, and he rose from his sitting position to start running circles around both of the Woods that were trapped in the kennel with him.

“Back to try and calm the beast, huh?” a voice was heard from outside the kennel door. Before Lexa had a change to respond, Clarke added with a raised brow, “Glad to see you learned how to use the lock.”

“Oh yeah, I’m a pro now,” Lexa smirked. “Raven mentioned you’d be here, we just had breakfast with her,” she motioned towards Aden who was standing in the corner observing the conversation while trying to keep Bear from going crazy. “Aden, this is Dr. Griffin, she’s a friend of Raven’s.”

“Are you the vet?” the boy asked.

Clarke nodded as she smiled at the boy, “I am, and you can just call me Clarke. It’s nice to meet you, Aden.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” he smiled back before petting Bear, “Are we allowed to take him out?”

“Of course,” Clarke watched as the boy, without realizing it, was calming the dog down with his gentle pats and scratches, “He’s a really good boy, he just has a lot of energy, which I’m sure your aunt can vouch for.”

“That he does,” Lexa mustered. “So, Clarke,” she turned her attention from Bear to the blonde, “I didn’t realize you were here on weekends, too.”

Clarke gave Lexa a familiar glare, “Humans have access to medical help on the weekends in case an accident happens, why wouldn’t animals have the same, in case something happened? We always have two people from the vet department here on Sundays, just in case.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Lexa shifted her feet, “that makes sense.”

Clarke nodded at the brunette’s acknowledgement and looked back to the boy, “So, Aden. Are you in the market for adopting a dog?”

“I wish,” the boy sighed, “I asked my mom if we could get one on Thursday and she said I had to wait two years because it’s a big responsibility, but at least Lexa brought me here so I could start looking.”

Clarke looked back at Lexa with her head cocked to the side, before letting her eyes wander back to the boy and the dog, “Wow, that’s so nice of your aunt to bring you here, even though your mom said ‘no.’”

“She doesn’t mind that we’re here,” Lexa chimed, not sure why she felt the need to defend herself to the blonde. It was quite apparent to both women, though hopefully not to the young boy, that the conversation between the two was filled with a sort of tension that was way too awkward for a Sunday late-morning.

“Right,” the blonde nodded, “I’ll leave you two to it, then. It was a pleasure meeting you, Aden. I hope you have fun today.”

“Thanks, Clarke,” he smiled.

Lexa let out a sigh of relief as soon as the blonde was out of sight, then clipped Bear onto the leash she pulled off a hook on the wall, “Ready to head out for a walk, little man?”

“Young man,” he corrected her, “and yeah, let’s do it.”

As the two made their way out of the kennel and closed the door behind them, Aden turned to face Lexa who was holding Bear’s leash, “She really hates you, huh?”

She rolled her eyes, “She’s rude, don’t pay attention to her.”

\---

From Lexa’s perspective, the forty minutes spent outside with Bear and Aden felt like four hundred. There was no doubt in her mind that she’d be taking a nap later on, after dropping Aden back off with Anya.

The morning was filled with playing fetch and running around and Lexa was grateful for her nephews energy, because that meant she could take a breather every so often. She wasn’t sure if it was because the dog was tired from their morning, but Bear was so extremely well-behaved. She remembered the note on his sheet saying that he couldn’t be off the leash, but he listened to every command while he was in the playing enclosure off to the side of the shelter. He listened every time his name was called and took each command as serious as ever. Clarke was right, he was indeed a really good boy.

Monty caught Lexa’s attention as she and Aden walked back into the shelter with Bear, “I see you two have finally warmed up to each other.”

Lexa couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not so sure about that, I’m pretty sure she still strongly dislikes me,” her eyes wandered to the door leading to the vet wing.

His eyes followed hers as he grinned, “Oh, Clarke? Yeah, she definitely does. I was talking about Bear,” he motioned towards the window behind the welcome desk, “I was watching you guys out there, he really listens to you. Looked like a lot of fun.”

“It was the most fun!” Aden beamed, “When can we come back?”

Lexa couldn’t help but smile at the boy, she was definitely glad he had a fun morning with her, even if it was at the expense of Clarke bruising her ego, “Let’s talk to your mom and make sure she’s okay with some more frequent visits, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, “I was really well-behaved today, so I’m sure if you tell her that, she’ll let me come back again.”

“As long as it’s okay with your mom,” Monty added in, “you’re always welcome to come here and play with the dogs. Bear had a lot of fun today, thanks to you.”

Lexa slung an arm on top of Aden’s shoulder, “Thanks for having us, Monty. I’m going to drop by tomorrow during my lunch with that donation check from Fecha. Will you be around?”

“Sounds great, I’ll be here,” he leaned towards the brunette to take Bear’s leash from her to bring him back to his kennel, “I’m sure this one will be excited to see you, too. Three times in a four-day span? He’ll probably think he’s going home with you.”

“Not sure I’m in the market for a pet, but I can come around to take him out every so often,” the brunette offered a smile, “Thanks again, Monty.”

On their way out, Lexa thought she caught a glimpse of Clarke through the vet department doors. She wasn’t exactly sure how Raven, the forever easy-going person she was, got along so well with the blonde, but she supposed that was none of her business.


End file.
